The Quebec Court of Appeal will hear the family of a Guatemalan agricultural worker who died while changing a tire on a van on the farm where he worked in 2021. A first instance decision had refused to compensate him, on the grounds that the worker had not received instructions to carry out the repair.
In its appeal request which was accepted on Wednesday, the family of the deceased criticizes the Administrative Labor Tribunal (TAT) for not having “duly taken into account the particular situation of seasonal agricultural workers who live and lodge at the workplace “.
Ottoniel Lares Batzibal died accidentally in July 2021 at the farm Les Cultures Fortin inc., in Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage, in the Chaudière-Appalaches region.
He was trapped under a van while changing a flat tire. He had then finished his work day and was planning to go to a soccer match.
In February 2023, the TAT confirmed the decision of the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) not to recognize the worker’s death as a work accident.
Administrative judge Valérie Lizotte argued that Mr. Batzibal had never received instructions to carry out the repair, stressing that the accident had occurred after normal working hours.
“The benevolent intention of the worker is part of a personal initiative which was not linked to his work,” she concluded.
Different employment link
A decision which reflects a poor understanding of the reality of temporary workers, deplores Michel Pilon, legal coordinator of the Assistance Network for Migrant Agricultural Workers of Quebec.
“They are not linked to the employer like Quebec workers,” underlines the man who has been involved in the matter from the start.
Mr. Batzibal was not just a farm worker, he says.
He was also the “designated driver”: “He also had a responsibility to transport workers, whether to the bank, the pharmacy or to their leisure activities. »
The deceased had worked on the same farm for 12 years, underlines Mr. Pilon. “It’s not yet won, but I’m very happy. »
The story caused a reaction from the Minister of Labor, Employment and Social Solidarity at the time, Jean Boulet.
While saying he respected this interpretation, he pointed out that “it is certain that it provokes reflection on the definition of a work accident when we look at the facts”. “It’s certain that it’s a decision that concerns me,” he added.